


One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

by okay_klepto



Series: The Many Adventures of Shiro and Keith [6]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cuddling, Established Relationship, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, Nervous and anxious Keith, movie date, supportive shiro
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-24
Updated: 2017-08-24
Packaged: 2018-12-19 10:59:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11896347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/okay_klepto/pseuds/okay_klepto
Summary: Keith goes over to Shiro's place for a romantic movie night.  It's all fun and games until Shiro begins to get touchy feely and Keith panics.  Is he really ready to take their relationship one step further, or will his reluctance lead to yet another heartbreak?





	One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

**Author's Note:**

> Time together: ~5 months

   Shiro looked at the mess that was his apartment.  Furniture was pushed all over the place, boxes were overflowing with junk he should have thrown out three days ago.  How was he supposed to know getting new furniture would be such a hassle?  Oh, and Keith was coming over tonight to watch a movie!  Dammit, nothing was where it should be.  The new furniture was supposed to have arrived last week, but the shipment had gotten delayed and it arrived yesterday.  Shiro had planned to have everything set where it should be for when Keith came over, but now that wasn’t going to happen.  There would be no Keith commenting on how nice the new furniture is, or cuddling on the new couch.  Shiro had to think fast as to where they could watch this movie.  His TV was unplugged and the sitting area was completely in shambles.  The dining area wouldn’t work and the guest bedroom was much too barren, and he couldn’t plug his TV in there anyways.  That left… well, his room.

   Quickly, Shiro went into his room to see a mess equal, if not greater, to the one with the furniture.  His bed wasn’t made, dresser drawers were open, and clean and dirty clothes were littered across the floor, not to mention there was an odd odor than hung in the air.  He needed this room to be clean, and clean fast.  It was quarter til eight, so Keith would be over in approximately 15 minutes.  Shiro grabbed a laundry basket and piled his clothes into it, not bothering to organize the clean from the dirty.  He ripped the sheets off his bed and threw those in as well.  All the commotion must have woken Milo up from his nap because Shiro turned to see a grey blob rolling in the clothes.

   “Not now Milo,”  Shiro said as picked up the basket.  “I need to clean.”

   Milo barked and followed Shiro around his room, trying to sniff at the laundry Shiro was carrying.  Shiro closed the drawers, threw some tissues in the garbage can, and shoved some junk under his bed and in his closet.  He had ten minutes now.  He raced to get clean sheets and threw them on the bed, quickly pulling the duvet and blankets over to make it look presentable.  Everything seems relatively organized now.  How did Keith keep his apartment so immaculate?  Even one room was a struggle for Shiro.  The bathroom was organized, he knew that for sure.  Shiro discarded the last pieces of trash and looked at his work.  Not too bad.  Five minutes to spare.

   But there was still that smell.

    _What is that?_  Shiro thought as he looked around in search of the source.  It wasn’t his closet, nor his drawers.  Shiro looked down and saw Milo looking up at him with big eyes, tongue hanging out and tail wagging.  Shiro leaned down and picked up Milo, pressing his nose to the dog’s back.

   “Holy- Milo!”  Shiro quickly carried Milo out of the room and into the bathroom.  He placed Milo in the bathtub and opened the closet.  Did he have something to clean Milo with quickly?  Shampoo, conditioner, deodorant… none of that seemed right.  Shiro whipped out his phone and looked up how to get rid of odor on your dog.  Apparently baking soda would work.

   “Stay.”  Shiro walked out of the bathroom as Milo barked a few times.  Did he have baking soda?  What was baking soda?  Shiro opened a cabinet and looked at the few bottles and boxes that he had in there.  Cornstarch… vinegar… baking powder?  Is that the same thing.  He pulled out his phone again and Google told him that, no, baking powder was not the same as baking soda.  Luckily, Shiro found a box of baking _soda_ tucked in the back of the cabinet.  He took the box to the bathroom and sprinkled some on Milo, who was very curious as to what this magical white powder was.  Shiro followed the very brief instructions online as to what to do.  He rubbed the baking soda in and proceeded it out, which was pretty easy considering how short Milo’s hair was.  Once he was done, he let Milo out of the tub and back into the apartment.  Milo went straight to the kitchen to get some water.  Shiro left the baking soda in the bathroom and found some air freshener in the closet and used that to unstink his bedroom.  Once the air was smiling like “clean cotton,” Shiro smiled to himself, proud of getting everything ready is such a short amount of time.  He was ready for the movie.

   The movie.  Shiro almost panicked.  He couldn’t move his TV and game systems into his room because they were behind the furniture, so what else could he do?  Shiro thought fast and remembered he had a portable projector he could use if he hooked his laptop up to it.  Luckily, there was a bare wall at the end of his bed that could be used to display the movie.  Shiro got the projector and spent what felt like an hour trying to adjust it to be the right size and brightness.  Everything would be alright.

   Now it was just past eight o’clock.  Shiro waited for Keith to show up at his door.  Keith was usually very prompt, but the buses could have gotten delayed, or he left work late.  For some reason, the longer Shiro had to wait, the more nervous he got.  There was nothing to be nervous about, though.  Maybe it was because he had to make last minute adjustments and he didn’t know how Keith would react.  There were many things Shiro was cautious about when it came to doing new, or at least out of the ordinary, stuff with Keith.  But everything should be fine.  This was supposed to be a causal date, just a movie and relaxing.  Shiro said Keith could wear his pajamas, but since he was getting off work and coming straight here, maybe that wouldn’t happen.  Shiro just had on a plain shirt and some comfy pants.  This was most definitely not formal.  No pressure, right?

   The sound of the doorbell ringing brought Shiro back to reality.  He walked over and opened the door to see Keith’s smiling face.

   “Sorry I’m a little late, the buses got delayed.  I think there was a car accident…”

   “That’s alright, I wasn’t waiting long.”  Shiro shut the door and Keith took off his shoes and coat.  They walked into the apartment and Keith looked curiously at the unarranged furniture.

   “Is this a new… look I’m not familiar with?”  Keith asked and he gestured to the furniture.

   “No, I got new stuff but it came in late so I haven’t been able to get everything where it should be.  It’ll be a few more days now that I have work.”

   Keith was going to say something but then they heard some noise from down the hallway.  Upon hearing Keith’s voice, Milo ran out of Shiro’s room and to the front door.

   “Hi Milo!”  Keith kneeled down and let Milo lick his face.  “Have you been good?”

   Milo barked excitedly and darted through the furniture, want to play with Keith.

   “He likes seeing you,”  Shiro said.

   “It’s better than him hating me.”  Keith looked around Shiro’s apartment.  “So, where are we going to watch a movie if your furniture isn’t arranged?”

   “Well,” Shiro prepared himself.  “We could watch it in my room if that’s okay with you?  My bed is big enough for the two of us.”

   “That’s fine, yeah.”  Keith smiled.  “I’m sure it will be comfy.”

   “Yeah… so it’s down the hall and to the right.  You can go and I’ll get some popcorn.”

   “Alright,”  Keith turned but then stopped.  “But I- oh, I’m still in my work clothes.  I left my others on the counter and-”

   Shiro decided to take a bit of a plunge.  “Do you want to put on one of my shirts?  I think you’ll be more comfortable.”

   Keith paused and thought about this proposition.  Wearing Shiro’s clothes?  Are they at that point yet?  But it’s just for this evening, what harm could it do?  “Yeah, that would be nice.”

   “My t-shirts are in the third drawer down in my dresser.  Wear whichever you would like.”

   “Alright.”  Keith began to make his way down the hallway.  He realized that this would be his first time in Shiro's bedroom, which was an odd thought considering how long they had been dating.  That wasn't bad, just interesting.  Keith really didn't know what to expect.  When he entered, he was neither surprised nor disappointed.  Shiro's room was clean, but looked lived in.  A few framed pictures and posters hung on the walls and a ceiling fan slowly spun.  Everything was fairly organized as well.  Keith set his work bag down in a corner and went to the dresser to find a shirt.  Sure enough, the third drawer was crammed full of half folded shirts.  Most of them were dark in color, or had some sort of logo printed across the front.  Most were either events Shiro had taken part in or bands Keith did not recognize.  He eventually found one at the bottom of the pile that suited what he wanted. It was beige and had a crest of some sort printed on the back.  Most importantly, it was a little larger than the other shirts.  Keith brought it up to his face.  The shirt was soft and smelled like Shiro.

   Keith laid the shirt onto the bed and took off his own shirt.  He pulled Shiro's shirt on over his head.  It was longer than he expected, and, despite them being short, the sleeves almost reached his elbows.  Keith kicked off his pants and folded them with his shirt and placed them with his bag.  For a shirt, it reached far down on Keith, but as a sort of dress it was short.  Very short.  It hit Keith about a inch below the hem of his boxers.  Keith was used to wearing shirts like this one as pajamas, especially in the summer, but he never wore them around other people.  This started to worry Keith.  What would Shiro think?  But this was Shiro's idea.  Did he have some ulterior motive for offering his shirt?  Keith felt himself worrying and slowly falling into a panic.  He jumped when he heard the door creak open.

   “Oh, it's just you Milo.”  Keith leaned down to scratch the dog's head.  Milo seemed very happy to see him.  When Milo started to get excited, Keith smiled and sat down on the floor to give him more attention.  Seeing Shiro's dog always made Keith happier.  How did he know Keith needed to be cheered up?  What a smart puppy.

   Milo must have lost interest in Keith because he rolled over and started to sniff at the pile of Keith belongings, barking to let Keith know that this pile of foreign objects posed no threats.  Keith smiled and stood, walking to his bag to find his glasses.  No matter what, he could never manage to wear his contact lenses the entire day.  That was one of the reasons he like working in the lab: contact lenses were discouraged.  Keith took his contacts out and carefully put them away, replacing them with his glasses.  He had gotten new ones - big, square lenses in a thick, black frame - so he could now see so much more clearly.  His other ones were an outdated prescription.

   Keith crawled onto Shiro's bed.  It was tall and Keith felt like he was going to fall through or off of it.  The bed was big, too, long and wide.  Keith was used to sleeping on his single bed, so this felt like he had all the room in the world.  Keith wondered why Shiro had such a large bed in the first place.  It wasn't exactly necessary, but maybe he needed it because of his height.  Whatever is was, Keith didn't mind.  He stretched out and rolled around.  He could make one full revolution without coming anywhere close to the edge of the bed.  And Shiro had lots of pillows.  Keith sat against them and bent his knees up.  That was not a good position for Keith to sit in considering what he was wearing.  He felt too exposed, and he didn't want to stretch out Shiro's shirt by putting his knees in it.  Sitting cross-legged didn’t work either.  Keith opted for sitting with one knee bent and foot tucked under him with the other leg stretched out, or partially bent.  It was a comfortable position and it kept the shirt from creeping up too far.

   As Keith sat his mind wandered to places it would have been better off not going.   _Shiro has a nice room,_ Keith thought as he looked around.   _It’s big, too.  So is his bed.  I wish my bed was this big.  I probably look really small on a bed this large.  Shiro is a large person, that’s why he has this bed.  He sleeps here every night._  Keith pushed the top of the duvet with his hands so it laid flat.   _I like this pattern.  I’m surprised Shiro chose it though._

   Keith examined the sheets and blankets.  They were dark, but the duvet was a light grey.

    _Why would Shiro get such dark sheets?_  Keith thought.   _Stains wouldn’t show up.  Stains?  Does Shiro eat in bed?  No, he doesn’t so that.  What else stains that you would find in a bed?  Wine?  Does Shiro drink wine?  Blood?  Nah, it wouldn’t be blood.  Oil… sweat… sweat from… a dream… or… sex… sex… you sweat when you have sex, right?  And there’s… Does Shiro-_

   Keith sat up a little straighter.  He looked at the bed and at the floor.  Had he seen some questionable magazines?  Or a box condoms tucked away?  Did Shiro have a collection of toys hidden somewhere that he brought out for special nights?  Keith felt his heart start to race.  He looked down at the baggy shirt and his bare legs.  His thoughts from before began to return.  What this some kind of plot?  Was this all planned and set up by Shiro to get laid?  Keith was wearing barely anything so it would be easy to get right into it.  But Keith wasn’t ready to have sex yet, at least with Shiro.  There probably wasn’t even a movie.  Shiro would probably come in and just pounce.  Keith started to tremble.  His palms started to sweat and his mouth wet dry.  He didn’t want this.  He wanted to leave.  He couldn’t stay.  Bed things would happen if he did.

   “Keith, I only had-”

   “Ah!”

   Shiro stopped in the doorway and stared at Keith.  “Are you okay?”

   Keith took a few deep breaths.  “Yeah, you just startled me.”

   “Oh,” Shiro smiled and walked the rest of the way in.  “Sorry, I guess I’m too quiet for my own good.  I only had lemonade to drink.  Is that okay?  I can get water.”

   “No no, lemonade is just fine.”  Keith took a glass that was dangerously balanced in Shiro's hand.  Keith took a sip and placed it on the table beside him.  Nice and tart.

   “I have popcorn, too.  Salted.”

   Keith smiled and Shiro placed the bowl next to Keith.  “What movie do you want to watch?”

   So there was a movie.  Good.  Keith watched Shiro walk over to his computer that was sitting on a desk.

   “I got my mini projector rigged up.  I was happy I found it.”  Shiro pushed a few buttons and a glowing box illuminated a portion of one wall.  A few more taps and the Netflix movie selection displayed.

   “What are you in the mood for?  Drama?  Horror?  Comedy?”

   “Not horror,” Keith commented as he looked through the movies Shiro was scrolling through.  “Something that’s easy to watch.”

   “Documentary?”

   “I’ll fall asleep.”

   “An independent?”

   “Maybe…”  Shiro scrolled through the category, every now and then commenting on movies he had seen.  Nothing caught Keith's eye until-

   “Let’s watch Moonrise Kingdom!”  Keith smiled when he saw the title.

   “I haven’t watched that in so long.”  Shiro smiled and looked back at Keith, who had on an even bigger smile now.

   “I love anything by Wes Anderson.”

    _How are you so cute?_  Shiro thought as he pressed play and adjusted the volume.  He stood and crawled onto the bed with Keith.

   “Do you want to go under the covers?  Your legs might get cold.”

    _Oh no,_ Keith began to think.   _Under the covers?  I can’t see under the covers.  What if he starts touching me?  Oh no, oh no, oh no…_

   “Uh…” _No, it’s fine, you can just move.  There doesn’t have to be sexy time.  It’s fine._ “Yeah, that would be okay.”

   Shiro pulled back a corner and Keith tucked his legs inside.  The movie began to play some sort of music and Milo started to bark.

   “Milo!”  Shiro scolded.  “It’s just a movie!  C’mon, you need some sleep.”  Shiro hopped off the bed and lead Milo out of the room to go to sleep.

    _He’s taking the dog out.  No dogs during sex.  Oh I don’t want this, I didn’t sign up for this.  I just wanted to watch a movie, not lose-_

   “Now it should be quiet.”  Shiro re entered and closed the door behind him.  He then turned the lights down so the room was darker.  Shiro came over and retook his spot next to Keith.  He put his arms around Keith and brought them closer together.  Keith didn’t mind that.

   “Did you get new glasses?”  Shiro asked.

   “Oh, yeah.  My old ones were really out of date.”

   “They look nice one you.”

   “Oh,” Keith smiled.  “Thanks.”

   “No problem.”  Shiro put a little kiss on the top of Keith’s head.  Keith felt his leg touch Shiro’s.

><><><

  They both thoroughly enjoyed the film, laughing and holding each other when needed.  They had eaten the bowl of popcorn and finished their drinks, so they were able to sit closer together.  Keith nearly forgot about his worries from before.  Shiro kept his hands to himself, except for the one he had around Keith the the entire movie.  Keith had nestled in closer to Shiro because of how comfortable and inviting his chest looked.  Shiro did not mind at all.

   The credits began to roll and they both stretched out a little in their spots.  They were lucky the movie wasn’t any longer or else half their bodies would be numb.

   “You liked the movie?”  Shiro asked as he stretched out his arms.

   “It’s still good, even the fifth time around.”

   Shiro laughed and Keith picked his phone up off the table.  He had gotten a message.

   “Who’s it from?”  Shiro asked as he wrapped his arms around Keith waist and rested his head on Keith’s shoulder.

   “Lance…”  Keith read the message.  “He’s wondering if I’m staying the night.”

   “You can if you want to.”  Shiro nestled his nose into Keith neck.  “I wouldn’t mind.”

   “It is late… I’ll tell him I probably will.”

   Keith replied to Lance and put his phone back down.  He took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes.  Shiro started to leave shorts pecks up and down Keith’s neck.

   “Shiro!  That tickles!”

   Keith’s giggling only encouraged Shiro.  He wiggled his fingers to tickle Keith’s sides.  Keith squirmed and tried to free himself from Shiro’s hold, but there was no escape.

   “Shiro!”  Keith felt himself getting turned more towards Shiro’s direction.  Their legs were quickly mingled together and Shiro decided to go in for Keith’s lips.

   They were sour and a little salty, but still warm and soft.  How he loved kissing Keith.  The little noises he made after they had been making out for a while turned Shiro on so much.  He wanted that tonight.  He wanted it so badly.  He wanted it now.

   He pulled Keith closer, moving his head to kiss keep properly.  He felt Keith tense, then relax.  Their legs rubbed up and down, pulling Shiro’s pant legs up so their bare skin touched.

    _Bare skin,_ Shiro thought.   _Just a little more…_

   Shiro slowly pulled the hem of the shirt Keith was wearing so he could feel Keith sides.  They were so soft and warm, Shiro couldn’t contain himself.  He began to kiss Keith with an open mouth, tentatively sliding his tongue in.  Keith let out a noise somewhere between a squeak and a moan and Shiro was almost over the edge.  He turned Keith over so he was more and top and Keith was laying flush against the pillows.  Shiro broke away to leave Keith dazed as he stripped his shirt off and threw it to the side, immediately going back to giving Keith all of his attention.  Keith wrapped his hands around Shiro’s neck and Shiro brought their chests together.  The strip of skin to skin where his shirt had ridden up made Keith hot and his heart beat faster.  Shiro’s legs were intertwined with his and all he could feel was Shiro bathed over him.  Shiro went from lips to neck, kissing and sucking and making Keith squirm and shiver.  He ran a hand delicately up Keith thigh, feeling the fine hairs that covered it.  Almost before he knew it, Shiro felt himself getting very, very hard.  But who wouldn’t in a situation like this?  Keith must be feeling the same way.

   Not exactly.  Keith melted for kisses, especially Shiro’s, and his strong arms and chest made Keith feel like he was in heaven.  The attention to his neck was a bit of a bonus, but once his lips were no longer occupied, he could better feel and think about what was going on with the rest of his body.

   He felt his legs touching Shiro’s, fingers trailing up his sides and thigh, Shiro sucking at his neck.  Everything happened so quickly.  One moment Keith was texting Lance and the next Shiro was practically eating him alive.  Keith didn’t mind when he and Shiro got a little steamy, but it was never in a bed, or while Keith didn’t have pants on.  That thought crossed Keith’s mind, and as he wondered what Shiro was feeling, he felt a hard, warm mass press against his crotch.

   “Shiro!”  Keith sounded almost pained.  He had not expected such a sensation and his mind immediately began to race back to the thoughts of the sex he didn’t want to have.

   “Keith?  Are you okay?  Did I hurt you?”  Shiro unlatched himself from Keith’s neck and worriedly looked into Keith eyes.

   “No, you didn’t, it’s just…” Keith didn’t want to say “no” to Shiro when he knew he wanted sex so badly.  That would be awful, and what sort of message would that send?

   “I’m just…”  Keith brought his legs together and lightly pushed Shiro’s chest with his hands.  “I’m not… I’m getting tired and…”  Keith turned away.  “I want to sleep.”

   Shiro blinked and continued looking at Keith.  “Oh, uh…”  Shiro repositioned himself so he wasn’t so on top of Keith.  “Yeah, that’s fine.”

   Once Shiro was completely off, Keith turned his full body away and buried himself into the covers.  He hid his face as best he could, not wanting to look at Shiro, or for Shiro to look at him.

   “I’m just gonna…”  Shiro gestured towards the bathroom, though Keith could not see.  “Yeah…”

   Shiro entered the bathroom to take care of some “business” and Keith was left alone in Shiro’s bed.  He felt just absolutely awful.  Shiro was so far in and he just pushed him away.  Shiro probably hated him now.  They’d never had sex and Shiro probably wanted it so badly.  Shiro was so eager and excited.  Now what would he think of Keith?  That he didn’t like him?  That he’s not masculine enough to have sex?  Would his actions, or lack of action, lead to another break up like so many times before?  All these thoughts made Keith’s eyes watery.  Why did he have to have these emotions now?  Couldn’t this have waited until he got home, or maybe, like, next week?

   Shiro returned a moment later and turned off the computer and projector before climbing in beside Keith.  Keith seemed very upset and Shiro hoped everything was okay.  Maybe he just came on too quickly and it frightened Keith, or maybe he was too rough.  Shiro wanted sex, specifically sex with Keith, but if Keith didn’t, it would have to wait.  He moved closer to Keith and wrapped his arms around Keith’s waist to hold him tight.

   “Are you feeling okay?  I don’t want you to go to bed upset.”  Shiro gently whispered in Keith's ear in hopes of calming him down.

   “Yeah, I’m… it’s…”  The words didn’t seem to come to Keith.  Why was it so hard to speak?

   Shiro squeezed him.  “It’s okay… I hope you had a nice time.  I did.  I always do with you.”

   Keith smiled a little when he heard those words.  Shiro made him seem so special.  But was he really that special?  Was Shiro just making that up to get sex out of Keith?  Oh, Keith didn’t want to think about that, not now, not ever.

   “Well, I’m going to be right here if something happens,” Shiro whispered.  “We’ll have a nice time cuddling tonight, huh?  We don’t get to do that for this long too often.”

   Keith felt Shiro put a few little kisses on the back of his neck.  Maybe things would be okay.

   Maybe.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. I have had this written for what feels like forever. It's nice to finally get something posted.
> 
> As always, comments and kudos are much appreciated.


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